The present invention generally relates to variable speed fan user control interfaces. More particularly, the present invention relates to control interfaces adapted to communicate an operational status of a variable speed fan device and/or communicate manners of operating the variable speed fan device to a user.
Variable speed fan devices include various portable air treatment systems for use in filtering or otherwise treating air in closed environments. These air treatment systems can assume a variety of forms, and generally include a housing maintaining a motorized fan blade, e.g., an impeller, along with a filter. The filter is often either a media filter or an electrostatic precipitator, for example. The motorized fan blade directs room air through the filtering mechanism to treat air by removing various contaminants, such as particles, dust, pollen, odors, and others. The treated air is then directed back into the environment in which the device is located. Variable speed fans may be designed to perform other or additional functions (e.g., dehumidification, heating, cooling, and others). Where air filtering functionality is provided, the variable speed fan typically provides a user with the ability to remove and replace the associated media filter, clean the associated electrostatic precipitator, or otherwise refresh the filter. With this approach, then, regardless of an exact form of the filter (e.g., HEPA filters, multi-layered filters, pleated filters, electrostatic precipitators, and others) upon partial or full saturation or loading of the filter with room air contaminants, the filter is replaced, cleaned, or other appropriate maintenance is performed.
Control interfaces for communicating and controlling an operational status of variable speed fans typically include printed indicia to communicate to a user what the operational status of the variable speed fan is and/or how to modify the operational status of the variable speed fan. For example, control interfaces may include wording such as “on” and “off” in association with a power button or display means, thus indicating that the variable speed fan is in a power “on” or “off” operational state and that the power button is operated to transition the variable speed fan device between the power “on” and “off” states. Alternatively, symbols commonly used to designate a power button, such as a circle with a vertical line protruding from the top are also often employed as printed indicia. As another example, control interfaces may include wording such as “low,” “medium,” and “high,” or variations thereof (e.g., “lo,” “med,” and “hi”) associated with a fan speed actuator or display means indicating that the variable speed fan device is operating at a particular fan speed. It should be understood that other printed indicia providing explicitly understood instructions for operating variable speed fan devices or indicating an operational status of such variable speed fan devices are also existent.